K-Cups: A Brewing Problem

The K-Cup Environmental Problem

James Hamblin wrote a great and thought-provoking piece in The Atlantic in March. The topic: The environmental disaster that is the K-Cup and the challenges we all face destroying it.

“No matter what they say about recycling, those things will never be recyclable,” Sylvan said. “The plastic is a specialized plastic made of four different layers.” The cups are made from plastic #7, a mix that is recyclable in only a handful of cities in Canada. That plastic keeps the coffee inside protected like a nuclear bunker, and it also holds up during the brewing process. A paper prototype failed to accomplish as much.